Brian Posehn

To paraphrase Megadeth's Dave Mustaine: Peace sells, but who's Brian? Even if Posehn's name is unfamiliar, you'll likely recognize the balding, heavyset, bespectacled comedian from Mr. Show and innumerable VH1 I Love the... specials. The pothead pop-culture pundit describes himself as a "stoned, angry-looking heavy-metal geek," though he surprisingly has a real life. The misanthrope recently married above (read: below) his weight class but retained his bitterness. Live In: Nerd Rage finds him riffing on domestic life, comparing the new Star Wars trilogy to a sexual assault and imagining a future in which grown men fetishize Iraqi anime. But metal is Posehn's first love, and headbanger culture is one of his favorite touchstones. The standup album's obligatory two songs dismantle his favorite genre from the inside, with musical help from members of Anthrax and Armored Saint. The devastating though lovingly informed "Metal by Numbers" sends up every hesher convention, from its sweaty mosh pit to pseudo-demonic vocals ("Cookie monster vocals/Yell like a wookie/Metal by numbers/Cookie, cookie, cookie"). If you've devoted even five minutes of your life to Megadeth, proceed directly to its hilarious video at MySpace.com/BrianPosehn. Five bucks says you'll be visiting Amazon.com soon after.